Casing or cover for a handle or the like



' April 10, 1951 KHCRCH 2,548,215

CASING OR COVER FOR A HANDLE OR"THE LIKE Filed Feb. 11, 1950 INVENTOR.Koweap flaecw Patented Apr. 10, 1951 UNITEDFSTA'TES PATENT OFFICE CASINGOR COVER FOR A HANDLE OR THE LIKE Konrad Horch, Maspeth, N. Y.

Application February 11, 1950, Serial No. 143,704

6 Claims. (Cl. 155-482) A further object of the invention is to make acover in such a manner that it conforms very closely to the shape of thehandle or arm rest 1 to provide a smooth snug fit that enhances theappearance of the part covered and effectively hides the worn upholsterycovering with which the handle or arm rest was originally finished.

Still further objects are to provide a cover which can be applied to thehandle or restwith Y a. minimum of manipulation; can be closed by theuse of a side fastener; can be put on in open position to allow thebolts or other fastening means that secure the handle in place on theframe .or door of the car to be adjusted; can be fitted over the handleor rest very quickly and by the owner of the car, thus obviating 'thenecessity of taking the ca to an upholsterer for servicing which isexpensive and time consuming; and to provide a cover which can be madein a small number of general patterns so that covers for the handles orarm rests of any standard make of. car can be purchased singly or insets for refurbishing the worn handle and arm rests coverings that, dueto constant use, are the first parts of the interior to show wear anddetract from the upholstered appearance of the car.

With these and other objects in View, the invention comprises certainconstructions and methods hereinafter described and then particularlypointed out in the claims and a preferred embodiment of my invention isillustrated in the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure 1 is a view in perspective showing a cover constructed inaccordance with my invention,

Figure 2 is a cross section taken on the line 2--2 of Figure 1 showingthe interior structure of the cover,

Figure 3 is a longitudinal section taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 1showing the relative arrangement of the parts comprising the cover,

Figure 4 is a plan view of the top and bottom forming section of thecover material,

Figure 5 is a plan view of the inner wall section of the cover material,

- 2 Figure 6 is a plan view of the outer wall section of the covermaterial,

Figure '7 isa View illustrating the initial step in the method of makingthe cover,

Figure 8 is a 'view illustrating the second step in the process ofmanufacture,

Figure 9 is a View illustrating the thild step in the manufacturingprocess, and

Figure 10 is a view showing the final step of the manufacturing method.

Referring to the drawing in detail, I0 indicates a finished cover forthe arm rest or handle of a vehicle door or frame consisting of a topand bottom forming piece. I l sewn to shapewith snug or close fittingrelation about the handle, for instancewhich it is not deemednecessaryto show. The piece H is shaped to form the top section l4 and bottomsection I 5 and is initially formed from a blank of desired contourdepending upon the slight variations in shape found in door handles andarm rests and is completed by inner and outer wall pieces I2 and I3,respectively. 7

When the parts H, l2 and [3 are sewn or otherwisesecured together tocover shape they can be held about a handle with a close snug fit by aslide fastener closure it which may be placed along the upper edge ifdesired but is preferably placed along the lower edge to be out of theway of the clothing of the person sitting next to the handle or armrest. w

The formation of the cover is accomplished by cutting suitably shapedblanks identified as at H toform the top and bottom walls; as at I? toform the inner vertical wall piece and as at 13 to form the outervertical wall piece. ,The blank I I is of substantially circular orannular shape presenting an outer edge which is cut to provide guideshoulders i defining the ends of that part P8 of the periphery of theblank II to which the material of the slide fastener is sewn orotherwise attached and guide notches IS on the inner and outerperipheries thereof. Matching notches 20 and 2! are cut in the peripheryof the blanks l3 and I2 respectively. 1

The first step in the method of constructing the cover is shown inFigure"? in which the slide fastener I6 is laid along the straight edgeof the blank l3 and is sewn by the stitching S which joins the fabricstrip 22 of the slide fastener structure to the blank l3. The secondstep consists in bringing one shouldered portion I! of blank H (Figure8) into register with the fabric 23 of the zipper and then stitching thelatter as at 24 about the periphery of blank I l until the othershoulder I1 is reached, as in Figure 9.

Then the edge of blank II is folded over from the Figure 9 position andsewn to the edge of blank I3 so that the notches 20 and I 9 meet and thepartsare accordingly drawn into shape or covercontour. The final step isthe stitching of the blank [2 about the inner periphery of blank ll sothat the latter is gathered to proper contour, this being accomplishedby starting the sewing of blank l2 in oblique position as shown inFigure 10 so that the corner 25 thereof will fall into register with thefirst or adjacent notch H! of blank H and the notches 2| will registerin succession with the notches [9 on the inner periphery of the blank H.

Through the aid of these notches and their relative locations, operatorswith little or no experience can be trained to make up the covers byfollowing the matching or mating of the notches and the orderly sewingof the parts in the manner shown. The blank ll may be made in two partsas indicated by the dot and dash line in Figure 4 and the use of theterminology as relatin to handle or arm rest includes either.

No openings or slots are shown in the cover through which the attachingmeans for mounting the handle or arm rest may extend but theseareusually punched or otherwise formed by the person applying the coversto fit the simple hardware used such as a lip and bolt arrangement as iswell understood. If such openings are desired they may be cut in theblanks but this is not found to be necessary.

My invention is not to be restricted to the precise details ofconstruction shown since various changes and modifications may be madetherein within the scope of the invention and without sacrificing theadvantages to be derived therefrom.

What I claim is: l. A covering of the character set forth comprising afirst blank of annular shape arranged when folded in U-shape to providespaced upper and lower cover sections for the top and bottom of a handleor the like, a second blank secured to the inner peripheral edge of thefirst blank to provide a cover for the inside of the handle and a thirdblank secured to the outer periphery of said first blank to provide acover for the outside of the handle and complete the covering.

2. A detachable casing for enclosing a handle or the like comprising afirst blank of substantially annular shape arranged when bent int U formto present upper and lower cover sections, a second blank having itsedges secured to the inner edge of the first blank to provide a coverfor the inside of the handle, a third blank, a slide fastener carryingtape secured to one edge thereof and the edges of said third blank andthe free edge of the slide fastener being secured to the outer edge ofsaid first blank to provide a coverin for the outside of the handle andto complete said casing.

3. A casing of the character described comprising a first blank ofannular shape arranged when folded to U-shape to constitute a coveringfor the top and bottom surfaces of a handle, second and third blankssecured respectively to the inner and outer peripheral edges of saidfirst blank to cover the inner and outer surfaces of said handle, andguide notches in said blanks for registry when the blanks are assembledfor shaping the casing to fit snugly about the handle.

4. A casing of the character described comprising a first blank ofannular shape having notches or the like at the inner and outerperipheral edges thereof, the blank when folded to U-shape constitutin acovering for the top and bottom surfaces of a handle, second and thirdblanks secured respectively to vthe inner and outer peripheral edges ofsaid first blank to cover the inner and outer surfaces of said handleand having notches or the like for register with. the notches of saidfirst blank for shaping the casing as the blanks are being securedtogether.

5. The method of producing a cover for a handle or the like whichconsists of forming and marking an annular shaped blank and rectangularshaped blanks of cover material, securing a slide fastener carrying tapeto one of the rectangular blanks, securin an edge of the slide fastenertape and one edge of the tape carrying blank to the outer peripheraledge of the annular blank in a substantially continuous operation toform the annular blank into U-shape and close the outer peripherythereof, and then securing the peripheral edges of the remaining blankto the inner periphery .of the annular REFERENCES CITED The followingreferences are of record in th file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Underwood et a1. Aug. 29, 1950

